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When I came back to the front we still lived in that town. There were many more guns in the country around and the spring had come. The fields were green and there were small green shoots on the vines, the trees along the road had small leaves and a breeze came from the sea. I saw the town with the hill and the old castle above it in a cup in the hills with the mountains beyond, brown mountains with a little green on their slopes. In the town there were more guns, there were some new hospitals, you met British men and sometimes women, on the street, and a few more houses had been hit by shell fire. It was warm and like the spring and I walked down the alleyway of trees, warmed from the sun on the wall, and found we still lived in the same house and that it all looked the same as when I had left it...
[Full original text of Chapter III continues here — shortened in this sample for space.]
Vocabulary Support
- sniper /sˈnaɪpər/ — A soldier trained to shoot from a hidden position.
- tunics /ˈtunɪks/ — Military uniforms worn as a coat or jacket.
- mess /mɛs/ — A place where soldiers eat together.
- Strega /ˈstreɡə/ — A strong Italian liqueur, often yellow in color.
- cafés /kæˈfeɪz/ — Small restaurants serving drinks and light meals.
- financial protector /ˌfaɪˈnænʃəl prəˈtɛktər/ — A humorous phrase meaning someone who lends or gives money.
- priest /prist/ — A religious leader in the Catholic Church.
- offensive /əˈfɛnsɪv/ — A planned attack in a war.
- Abruzzi /əˈbrʊtsi/ — A mountainous region in Italy mentioned by the priest.
- argument /ˈɑrgjəmənt/ — A discussion where people disagree strongly.
Comprehension Questions
- What changes does the narrator notice in the town when he returns in the spring?
- Who is Rinaldi, and how does he greet the narrator?
- What does Rinaldi ask to borrow, and why?
- Why is the priest disappointed, and how does the narrator explain his decision?
- How does Hemingway contrast the narrator’s nights of drinking with the idea of visiting the Abruzzi?
- What disagreements arise at the mess table about religion and the war?